One of the things I learned especially while writing for Weekly Music Commentary is that there is more than one road to success. Some artists may go through years of hard times and broken promises to finally find success. There are others who get to hit music right out of the gate. In both cases, I feel it’s important to look into the formative years. Many times you find clues that help us understand why the artist pushed ahead and became great at their craft. Whatever the formula, every artist who finds success must first be prepared for it. If not, the moment just might be fleeting. That’s why this weeks’ post might help us understand why preparation is important. This week, Weekly Music Commentary features young singer/songwriter Sofia Valdes. Im sure once you are done reading this post, you will not only have an appreciation of Sofia Valdes, but also the process that brought her to this place in life and career.
A 20-year-old singer/songwriter born and bred in Panama, Sofia Valdés creates the kind of emotionally honest and beautifully original pop music that could only come from years of exploration. After learning to play guitar at the age of eight and writing her first song at 13, the independent-minded artist sharpened her craft by studying at fine-arts schools in the U.S. and U.K., and by building an eclectic sonic vocabulary informed by everything from British folk and bossa nova to ’60s Motown and ’70s soul. Valdes described her musical start.
“My mom and my dad were really into music. My mom was more into acting and stuff, but she was doing a lot of singing here and there and would perform. My dad was a drummer and his family was in the music world, so when I was 8, I started doing guitar and later on when I was 13 started writing my own songs. My parents were really, really supportive since they knew the world already. My mom made a job out of art and my dad’s family was able to make a job out of this, so they always let me do my thing.”
When I first read Sofia’s previous statement, it made me reflect on a thought I had a while back. I wondered what my life would be like today, without music during my high school years. You see, my mother asked me if I enjoyed my childhood. I think she knew I did. Nevertheless, it made me think what my life would have been without the joy of band in high school. Sofia Valdes had parents not only with a musical background, but they also allowed her to enjoy her own musical journey.
What happened in Valdes’ home really gave her an eclectic base. She was able to listen to just about every type of music, what a difference that made. Notice how she explains it. “My mom would only blast the Black Eyed Peas and Gwen Stefani and Britney Spears. And then my dad was more into classics, he would listen to the Beatles, a lot of the Beatles. He would listen to a lot of singer-songwriters. I remember him showing me Bob Dylan as well and Norah Jones. But because my mom didn’t like my dad’s music and my dad didn’t like my mom’s music, we would only listen to Cuban music. Cuban music was the middle ground.”
Though the parents did not like each other’s music, the differences provided a perfect base for their young daughter to thrive musically. She basically had the music that provided several lessons in songwriting, developing her into a very well-versed musician. Indeed! Valdés took charge of her musical education and quickly found her way to formative influences like Nick Drake, João Gilberto, Stevie Nicks, Bobbie Womack and Minnie Riperton. Within a few years she’d written her first song (“It was about a ghost in my house; his name was Kevin”), and soon began infusing her material with the dreamy melancholy that defines her music today.
Before long, Valdés was staying up all night working on songs and sleeping through school the next day—a cycle that continued until she decided to apply to Interlochen Arts Academy, a boarding school in Northern Michigan. Because her family was dealing with significant troubles at the time, Valdés sent in her application without her mother’s knowledge or consent. “I realized I couldn’t rely anyone to make things happen for me,” says Valdés. “I needed to find a way to get out on my own.”
To move forward with her musical development, Valdés next headed to the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, a world-renowned university founded by Paul McCartney. Having journeyed more than 5,000 miles from home, she suffered even greater culture shock than in her early days in Michigan, and spent most of her first year in England feeling miserably out of place. “I didn’t have connections and I couldn’t even speak to people because I was so shy,” Valdés says. “That whole year I was just alone in my room, writing songs that no one else ever heard.” Although she tried working with others, each potential collaborator failed to grasp her vision for her music. “By the end of freshman year I was ready to drop out and go be a yoga teacher,” she says. “It was hell and I was so unhappy—but then it ended up all being worth it.”
She went back to Liverpool the following year, and connected with fellow musicians who encouraged her to keep writing and hooked her up with co-writing sessions in London. She started posting music online and it caught the ear of a music manager. Within weeks, her Christmas trip home to Panama was derailed by a visit to Los Angeles to meet with record labels, which promptly led to her signing with Warner Records. Though she returned to Liverpool for the spring semester, Valdés soon had to fly back to Panama when the pandemic hit, taking off in such a rush that her guitars and computer were left behind. Once she’d gotten settled at home, Valdés began the process of working remotely with producers to bring her debut EP Ventura to life.
One thing I have not mentioned about Sofia Valdes, her great-grandfather was the legendary Cuban musician Miguelito Valdés, and her great-great grandmother was Silvia De Grasse (a famed Panamanian singer who once performed with Louis Armstrong). Although she never met either, the musical talent is in her bloodlines.
In reflecting on Ventura, Valdés points to an unexpected outcome of making the EP: a much more powerful connection to her cultural background. “The deeper I get into working on my music, the more I realize how much it’s connected to the music that people in my family were making a long time ago,” she says. “On the EP it’s in little things like the movement of the drums, but I want to explore that even more from now on.”
Her family, education, and diverse musical background all contributed to Sofia Valdes reaching this moment. Once you listen to her music you probably will come to the same conclusion I did. Yes, this is only the beginning. Sofia Valdes has been prepared for this moment and so much more.